KOCHI: The recent arrest of a Bihar native for producing a fake police clearance certificate to secure a job in the BPCL Kochi refinery has brought to light the apparent lack of proper background checks of migrant labourers applying for jobs in the high-security zone.
While BPCL officials say that this is the first such case, police officers suspect that there is a racket operating in the city which is providing such fake certificates to hundreds of migrant labourers for securing jobs in the refinery.
Pappu Kumar Chauhan, the Bihar native, was nabbed by BPCL authorities after they suspected the authenticity of the certificate he produced. A probe revealed that the document was forged by Amal, who runs a DTP firm in Tripunithura. While Amal was released on bail, Pappu Kumar was remanded. “Pappu too will get bail as it is a non-bailable offence,” said Ambalamedu SI Shabab KK.
Stringent probe, stricter screening to follow
Shabab said further probe will be taken up to unearth the racket forging clearance certificates.
“This is the first such reported case from BPCL. However, several migrant workers are employed there and we will inspect everyone’s papers as many of them might have got a job there with fake certificates,” Shabab said.On its part, the refinery has decided to make the selection process more secure.
“This is the first time that someone has been arrested with a forged certificate. Maybe that person has a criminal background or the police verification was slow, which allowed him to forge the certificate. We are now planning to include Awaaz insurance cards into the verification process and are in talks with the health department,” said a spokesperson of BPCL Kochi refinery.